A phenomenology of love and hate

153 Pages·2007·1.978 MB·English

by  Hadreas, Peter J

A PHENOMENOLOGY OF LOVE AND HATE
Using phenomenology to uncover the implicit logic in personal love, sexual love,
and hatred, Peter Hadreas provides new insights into the uniqueness of the beloved
and offers fresh explanations for some of the worst outbreaks of violence and hatred
in modern times.
Topics discussed include the value and subjectivity of personal love, nudity and
the temporality of sexual love, the connection between personal, sexual love,
and the incest taboo, the development of group-focused hatred from individual-
focused hatred, and prejudicial discrimination. The work encompasses analysis of
philosophers and writers from ancient times through to the present day and examines
such episodes as the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing and the Columbine
High School massacre.
ASHGATE NEW CRITICAL THINKING IN PHILOSOPHY
The Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy series brings high quality research
monograph publishing into focus for authors, the international library market,
and student, academic and research readers. Headed by an international editorial
advisory board of acclaimed scholars from across the philosophical spectrum, this
monograph series presents cutting-edge research from established as well as exciting
new authors in the field. Spanning the breadth of philosophy and related disciplinary
and interdisciplinary perspectives Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy
takes contemporary philosophical research into new directions and debate.
Series Editorial Board:
David Cooper, Durham University, UK
Sean Sayers, University of Kent, UK
Simon Critchley, New School for Social Research, USA; University of Essex, UK
Simon Glendinning, London School of Economics, UK
Paul Helm, Regent College, Canada
David Lamb, University of Birmingham, UK
Peter Lipton, University of Cambridge, UK
Tim Williamson, University of Oxford, UK
Martin Davies, Australian National University, Australia
Stephen Mulhall, University of Oxford, UK
John Post, Vanderbilt University, UK
Alan Goldman, College of William and Mary, USA
Simon Blackburn, University of Cambridge, UK
Michael Friedman, Stanford University, USA
Nicholas White, University of California at Irvine, USA
Michael Walzer, Princeton University, USA
Joseph Friggieri, University of Malta, Malta
Graham Priest, University of Melbourne, Australia; University of St Andrews, UK
Genevieve Lloyd, University of New South Wales, Australia
Alan Musgrave, University of Otago, New Zealand
Moira Gatens, University of Sydney, Australia
A Phenomenology
of Love and Hate
PETER HADREAS
San José State University
© Peter Hadreas 2007
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Peter Hadreas has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be
identified as the author of this work.
Published by
Ashgate Publishing Limited
Gower House
Croft Road
Aldershot
Hampshire GU11 3HR
England
Ashgate Publishing Company
Suite 420
101 Cherry Street
Burlington, VT 05401-4405
USA
Ashgate website: http://www.ashgate.com
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Hadreas, Peter J., 1945-
A phenomenology of love and hate. - (Ashgate new critical
thinking in philosophy)
1. Love 2. Hate 3. Phenomenology
I. Title
128.4'6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hadreas, Peter J., 1945-
A phenomenology of love and hate / Peter Hadreas.
p. cm. -- (Ashgate new critical thinking in philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-7546-6146-7 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Love. 2. Hate. 3. Phenomenology.
I. Title.
BD436.H255 2007
128'.46--dc22
2007001497
ISBN-13: 978-0-7546-6146-7
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction Why A Phenomenology of Love and Hate? 1
The Logical Underpinnings of Love and Hate 1
New Resources Made Available by Recent Husserlian Scholarship 3
Phenomenology is Suited to Handling Cross-Disciplinary Topics
such as Love and Hate 5
An Explanation of the Book’s Plan 10
1 Personal Love 13
Husserl on ‘Pre-Objective’ Strivings 14
The Notion of ‘Contact’ and its Relation to Personal Love 17
The Notion of ‘Understanding-Following-After-Another’
and the Development of Personal Love 20
Personal Love and the ‘Truth’ of the Beloved 28
Personal Love as ‘Hyper-Subjective’ 30
Personal Love as a Source of Value 31
2 Sexual Love 39
Sexual Desire, Unlike Personal Love, Objectifies; in so doing,
it Modulates the Ordinary Part/Whole Structure of Perceptual Objects 40
Sexual Parts and Pieces as Objects Organized by Touch 43
Nudity and the Temporality of Sexual Love 45
Husserl on Wholes and Parts 47
An Explication of a Notorious Depth Psychological Doctrine 52
The Contrast Between Personal and Sexual Love 53
An Extreme Conflict Between Personal and Sexual Love: The Incest Taboo 57
Summary 63
vi A Phenomenology of Love and Hate
3 Hatred 65
Hatred in General is a ‘Passion’ 66
Marginal Types of Hatred 68
Individual-Focused Hatred – A Classic Illustration 68
The Development of Group-Focused Hatred
from Individual-Focused Hatred 69
An Intimation of the Strange Logic of Group-Focused Hatred 73
Husserl on the Opposition between ‘Homeworlds’ and ‘Alienworlds’
and the Emergence of the Logical Exclusive ‘Either-Or’ in Group Hatred 74
The Logic of Generalization in Monolithic Group-Focused Hatred 78
The Generalization in Violent Group-Focused Hatred is ‘Pseudo-Eidetic’ 81
A Further Indication of the Two Logical Underpinnings of Hatred:
Removal from the Ladder of Abstraction 84
A Paradigm Case of the Logical Underpinnings of Group-Hatred:
The 1995 Oklahoma Federal Building Bombing and The Turner Diaries 86
Monolithic Group-Hatred, sadly, does not imply Psychopathology 88
Violent Hatred’s Shadow: Prejudicial Discrimination 91
Two Benign Forms of Group Hatred: Civil Hatred
and ‘Philosophic Misanthropy’ 94
Conclusion The Logical Underpinnings of Love and Hate 99
The Logical Complement of Personal Love, its Perfections and Perils 102
The Logic of Wholes and Parts and the ‘Scandal’ of Sexual Love 111
The Confinement of Hatred into the Logic of an Exclusive ‘Either/Or’ 114
The ‘Either/Or’ Logic of Hatred Suggests a Threefold
Approach to its Abatement 116
Bibliography 127
Index 137
For Cathy
πάντων ξύννοµε τϖν ἐµϖν
ὕµνων, ξύντροφ᾿ ἀηδοῖ
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgements
There are thoughts in this book that have been germinating ever since my first studies
in philosophy. As such, it is fair to acknowledge those who set me on the path. I
think first of Professor Wallace Matson whose remarkable lectures on the history
of philosophy made the study of philosophy a compelling pursuit. Also from years
long gone by, I must acknowledge Professor Hubert L. Dreyfus who first guided me,
along with many other graduate students, through the vagaries of phenomenological
interpretation. Well-known as a phenomenologist in his own right, Hubert Dreyfus is
a tireless teacher, often expending his extraordinary energies and critical intelligence
upon novices. There is, I think, still much truth in Aristotle’s declaration that there is
no adequate return possible for those who have introduced one to philosophy. These
are debts that can hardly be repaid, except perhaps by lasting gratitude.
More recently, many colleagues at San José State helped this book along both with
administrative and moral support. Even on a short list I am grateful to Karin Brown,
Thomas Leddy, Tommy Lott, Rita Manning, Bo Mou, Barbara Scholz, William H.
Shaw, and Anand Vaidya. Richard Tieszen read over the book in manuscript form.
I’ve also befitted from his own work in phenomenology. (And, as I write this, I am
sure there are others at San José State I’ve forgot who deserve to be mentioned.)
Professors David Cousins Hoy, James R. Mensch, Robert C. Solomon, and
Anthony J. Steinbock kindly offered me publication advice. John Drummond, beyond
the call of duty, supplied me with a translation of Husserl’s manuscript, Gemeingeist
I & II. They cannot be held responsible for whatever arguments I advance in this
book, but their goodwill helped it to arrive at the publisher’s door and attests to their
generosity of spirit.
Peter Eggenberger has for years been a formidable foil in philosophical
argumentation. He unfailingly helps to put into perspective whatever philosophical
theory I’m trying out.
Last, I cannot express thanks enough to my son, Thomas Harada, and my wife,
Cathy Luchetti. Tom listens supportively to my ideas, rarely offering criticism,
but when he does, he does so with subtlety and exactitude. Cathy read over all
the chapters of the book, sometimes more than once. Her extremely quick eye for
catching stylistic solecisms is extraordinary and her emotional support in this project
has been bountiful and constant.